Combined printing and tabulating machine



Feb. 11, 1930. G. BRANESL ETAL V 1,746,414

COMBINED PRINTING AND TABULATING MACHINE Feb. 11, 1930. G.BRAND| ET AL1,746,414

COMBINED PRINTING AND TABULATING MACHINE Filed Jan. 25, 1927 4Sheets-Sheet 2 avezeiazm @MMM Feb. ll, 1930. G. BRANDL ETAL 1,746,414

COMB1NED-PRINTING AND TABULATING MACHINE Filed Jan. 25. 1927 4Shee'ts-Sheet 5 @iii Welders @www Feb. 1l, 1930. G. BRANDL ETAL1,746,414

COMBINED PRINTING AND TABULATING MACHINE Filed Jan. 25, 192'? 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb. .11, 1930 UNITED STATES VPATENT'ol-unen,GEQBG BRANDT'. AND WALTER. EAENscH, oF BERLIN, GERMANY, AssIGNoEs .ToCHE-- MISCHE FABRIC AUF ACTIEN (VORM. E.`SCHERING), F BERLIN, GERMANY,A. `GOB,-

ronATIoN or GERMANY COMBINED ERINTINGAND TAEULATING ACHINE Ap'pueatian.med January 25,' 1927, Vserial in.` isasoaad in GermaniApn 1a, 192e.l

Printing and tabulating machines,as here- I tofore knoWn, -print totalstaken from each of a plurality of groups of perforated cardsforinstance, the -totals of theV amounts and' 'values of certain goods in adefinite sales territory-continuously on an endless strip of paper whichisdrawn from a roll. In many cases, it is required to record thesetotals at different time intervals, say monthly, one after the other ona card, in order to obtain an Videa of the development of businesstransacted in a deinite sales'territory.'l In this case, the amounts canbe transferred manual- .the printing they are automatically removed andstacked. If, for instance, statistics must be obtained regarding/salesof different goods in different countries, the perforated cards aresorted by a suitable sorting machine according to countries, goods andmonths, each goods-countryV forming a group. A card is supplied for eachgroup, and these cards are arranged in the order of the perforated cardgroups and are guided individually, one after another, from a stack ofcards through the printing mechanism and printed in the same successionas the perforated card groups in the tabulating machine, Printing can beelfected at different line-heights, so that each line-height thuscorresponds to a definite month. In this manner, it is possible to enterthe totals on each perforated card group monthly, one beneath another,on the cards. In the drawing, two forms of a machine operating in thisWay, are represented.

The first form is shown in Figures 1 to 5,

Vand in this form, the feed of the unprinted Y machine of thischaracter;

cards to theprinting table' or platen is effected by means of hookedslides, while the subsequentremoval vof the printed cards is effected bymeans of pneumatic'jgrippers, actuated by compressed air and vacuum.

Figure 1 is a part-sectional elevation of a Fig. lavis an enlarged viewpartly in sec tion, of the device for fee ing unprinted cards;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

v Fig. 3 is a section through the pivot-head of the pneumatic grippers;ly from the paper strip to the cards, but

-andvacuum forthe pneumatic grippers; and

Fig. 5 is a section.

The second form is shown in Figs. 6 to 11. This construction also useshooked slides to Withdraw the unprinted cards from the pile, but usesrollers to convey them to the 'platen and to the linal pile. v Fig, 6 isari-elevation of the machine; Fig. 7 is a plan view thereof; Y i Fig. 7?is an enlarged View, partly in sectior, of the device for feedingunprinted car s;

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a section on line9-'9 of Fig. 7; Fig. 10 is a section on line 10-10 of Fig. 7 Fig. 10a isa view of a detail of Fig. 10; Fig. 11 is a section on line 11-11 ofFig.'7. Referring first to the construction represented in Figs. 1 to 5,there is shown of the printing mechanism of the tabulating maplan viewof Fig. 4,' partly in chine, only the vertically reciprocating uni whichare guided two slides 5 that feed the` cards singly in front of the typemembers 2 (hereinafter termed the` printing mechanism), in whichposition` thecards are supported by a vertically-,adjustable bar 6associated with the vertical printing table or platen 7. The latterconstitutes the front wall, and the box 3 the top wall, of a housing 8,in -which are located the mechanism for moving the slides 5 and the aparatus for actuating the air compressor an pump. The box 3 contains astationary cross-Wall or shelf 3", which overlies the cards and servesnot only to reinforce the box but also to prevent the cards from beingforced upward or outward thereof, as hereinafter described.

The slides 5 are provided with card-feeding devices or hooks 5b ofangle-section (see Fig. 1") which are secured to the outer faces of theslides and have their shorter or horizontal arms secured in said slidesand projecting slightly into the interior of the box. These slides areconnected by perforated lugs 5 to a rod 9, which is intermittently movedup and down by links 10 and cranks l1, and the latter are attached to ashaft 12 which is operatively connected with the shaft 15 of an electricmotor 1 6 by means of interengaging friction gears 13-14. The hooks orfeeders 5b are thus reciprocated vetrically with the slides 5, as willbe apparent, and the shelf 3* is located directly opposite the int whichthe feeders reach at the top of their stroke, so that the shelf will,therefore, prevent the cards from being carried upward with the feederswhen the latter, after having completed a downward movement, commencetheir succeeding up-stroke.

The shaft 12 mentioned above has associated with it a latch or stopdevice 17-18 which holds it stationary at' certain times; and the wheel17 of this device is fixed to said shaft outside the housing 8 near oneof the cranks 11 and is provided with a single peripheral notch 17 whilethe latch proper or pawl 18 is mounted on the housing directly in frontof the platen 7 and is operated by a stop 20 on avertically-reciprocating bar 21. To this end, the pawl is given the formof a bellcrank and is pivoted or fulcrumed at its apex, its upper armbeing subjected to the action of a spring 18 that tends to engage itwith the notch in wheel 17. The lower arm of the bell-crank carries atits end a trip 19 which is pivoted thereto in known manner and subjectedto the action of a spring 19, so that it can rock idly about its pivotin a clockwise direction, but cannot rock yanti-clockwise. The outer endof this trip projects into the path of stop 20, and, hence, when bar 21descends, the engagement of the parts 2O and 19 will rock the bell-crankanti-clockwise, thereby releasing it from wheel 17 and', in conse uence,unlocking shaft 12; the toothed end o the upper arm of the bell-crankthereafter riding along the smooth periphery of the wheel during thesubsequent rotation of said shaft. At the end of the rotation of theshaft, the slides 5 are again in their raised, operative position andbar 21 then starts its up-stroke, during which time its stop 2O movespast trip 19 which' swings about its pivot without producing anymovement of the bell-crank.

The movement of the bar 2l is derived from the universal bar 1thatcontrols the printing mechanism 2 and in consequence of this,uniformity between the movement of the printing mechanism and the feedof the cards out of the box 3 to said mechanism, is assured.

The removal of the printed cards is accomplished, in a known way, bypivoted pneumatic grippers 22, subjected alternately to the action ofressure and suction. Durin the printing, tlie grppers receive compresseair, whereby they press 'the cards firmly against the platen 7, while atthe same time, said cards are held against said platen by suctioncreated in a tubular chamber 23 lo'- cated on the rear side of theplaten in the plane of the grippers, suction and pressure alternating,as in the grippers. The pressure action comes into play when thegrippers are connected with suction, in order to remove the printedcards.

The suction 'action is created by a pump 24, to which is connected asuction tank 25, while the blower 26 for creating the pressure actiondelivers the compressed air into a pressure tank 27. Both pump andblower are located in the housing 8 and are driven from the shaft 15 ofthe motor 16. The suction tank 25 has ttwo pipe connections 28, 29 tothe valves 30, 31, while the pressure tank 27 has three connections 32,33, 34 to the valves 35, 36, 37. Of these valves, valve 30 controls thesuction for the grippers 22; valve 31 the suction for the chamber 23 onthe rear side of the platen 7 valve 35 the compressed air for thegrippers 22 during the printing; valve 36 the compressed air for thechamber 23 during the removal of the printed cards from the printingtable; and valve 37 the compressed air for the grippers 22 during thepiling of the printed cards' in the delivery receptacle. The previouslymentioned connections between the suction and pressure tanks and thevalves are made by flexible pipes indicated in dotted lines in Fig., 1;the pipe connections in the valve box 38 wherein the valves are arrangedand correspondin to the connections 28, 29 being indicated y numerals28, 29 and those corresponding to the connections 32, 33, 34 by numerals32', 33 and 34.

Each of the aforesaid valves is in the form of a double piston, as shownin Fig. 4. The

pistons 44 and 44 are rigidly secured on ay common piston rod 45 whichis pressed against a cam disk 47 by a spring 46. The pistons are guidedin a bushing 43 which forms, with the casing 38, two chambers 40 and 41,separated by a horizontal partition 39. Each of these chamberscommunicates with the interior of said bushing by a plurality of ports42. The upper chambers 40 of the suction valves 30 and 31 are connectedwith the suction tank 25, while the lower chambers 41 are connected tothe grippers 22 and to the chamber 23 by pipes 61 and 63.

In a similar manner, the upper chambers 40 of the pressure valves 35,36, 37 are connected to the pressure tank V27, and the lower chambers 41to the pressure chamber 23 and the grippers 22. The distance betweenAthe pistons and the length of their .stroke are such that, in the upperposition of the piston 44, the chambers 41 are temporarily shut off fromthe upper chambers 40 by the lower piston 44, while in the lowerposition of the piston, they communicatewith the chambers 40 and 41through the ports 42.

The construction of all the valves is the same; and all the cam disks 47are carried on a common shaft 48 which is intermittently driven in onedirection by al rack-andinion drive, likewise operated. by means of t ebar 21 that controls the pawl 18 ofthe latch wheel for the intermittentfeed of the unprinted y cards in front of the platen. At each upstrokeand each down-stroke of the bar 21, the cam shaft 48 is given one turnin the same direction, to which end, two pinions 49, 50 are looselymounted on said shaft and are pressed apart by a spring 51. The toothedhubs of these pinions form, in conjunction with the fixed toothed disks52, 53, one-way clutches which act in such a Way that, when they bar 21goes up, the pinion 50 turns loosely while, when the bar goes down, thepinion 49 turns loosely. The corresponding racks 54 and 55 wherewith thebar 21 is provided engage the pinions 49 and 50 on opposite sides thus,(see Fig. 4) rack 54 engages pinion 50 on the rear side of the latter,while rack 55 engages pinion 49 on its front side.

The hollow grippers 22 are pivoted on a stationary hollow shaft 56 (Fig.3), and their swinging movement is likewise derived from the bar 21through a rack-and-pinion drive 57 and a spur ear train 58. The hollowshaft 56 is divi ed longitudinally into two chambers 59, 60; the upperchamber 59 being connected at one end through a fitting 61 to thesuction valve 30, and at the other end through a fitting 61 (Fig. 2) tothe pressure valve 35, while the lower chamber 60 is connected only tothe valve 37 through a fitting 62. The connections between said fittingsand the valves are also made by flexible pipes or tubes (not shown). Thefittings on the valves, corresponding to the fittings l61, 61

land 62, are indicated by numerals 61', 61" and 62. l

The chamber 23 on the rear side of the platen 7 is connected at one endby a flexible pipe 63 to the fitting 63' of the pressure valve 36, andon the other end to the fitting 63" of the suction valve 31 by a pipe63".

For piling up the printed cards, there is provided a box 64, guided ininclined slots 65 formed in the housing wall 66 and suspended bycords67. These cords run over rollers 68, 69, 70, toa follower rail 71which is guided in lateral slots 72 formed in the box 3 for theunprinted cards. These latter cards are sub-l jected to the ressure ofthe follower 71 which that bar 21 has been moved upwardly, and

also assumin' that a card has just been print-- ed and is to be removed,at this moment the printed card must be removed by compressed air fromthe platen 7 and be gripped by suction by the grippers 22. The valves 36and 30 are accordingly opened, and compressed air flows from tank 27over the path 33, 33', 63', 63, into the chamber 23 on the rear side ofthe platen; at the same time, the suction existing in tank 251'istransmitted to the grippers 22 over the path 28,28', 61,61, 59.

As the bar 21 descends, the grippers .O2 are swung anti-clockwise by therack drive 57 and'gears 58 into the dotted-line position in Fig. 1,thereby'first of all closing (by means of its cam disk 47) the valve 36that connects the chamber 23 with the compressed air tank 27. Duringthefurther descent o f the bar 21, the lpressure valve 37 is opened andcompressed air from said tank 27 is admitted into the lower chamber 60of the hollow shaft 56, over the path 34, 34', 62', 62. At the'end ofthe swinging movement, the grippers come into registration with a port60a in chamber 60, whereupon the compressed air enters the grippers andblows ofi the card. The grippers remain connected with suctionthroughout their swinging movement and until shortly before suchmovement is completed, due to the provision of radial ports 59a (Fig. 3)in the upper chamber 59 and of an annular passage 56a in the outersurface of the hollow shaft 56, the suction being cut off by the closingof valve 30.`

vDuring the descent of the bar 21, the stop 17. Consequently, theshaft12 is driven l through the friction drive 13, 14, and an unprinted cardis drawn out ofthe box 3'by the slides 5 (actuated bycranks 11 and links10) and is fed in front of the platen 7 until it comes to rest on thesupporting bar 6. At

this moment, the suction valve 31 is opened and the tank 25 is put incommunication with the chamber 23, over the path 29, 29', 63a', 63u,

whereby the card is held against the platen p by the suction.

As the bar 21 rises, the grippers 22are swung back by the rack drive 57and gears 58; but at the completion of this movement,

however, the valve is also opened, and compressed air flows from thetank 27 into the grippcrs 22, over the path 32, 82', 61", 61, so thatthe card is at the same time firmly pressed against the platen. Theprinting operation then follows, thus completing the cycle ofoperations.

It has already been mentioned that the supporting bar 6 of the unprintedcards is adjustable in the vertical direction. Such adjustment is topermit the cards to be printed on different lines, and it isaccomplished by means of a rail 73, which can be adjusted by hand bymeans of a rack-and-pinion drive 74. The correct line adjustment isdetermined by a fixed scale 75, over which a pointer 76 on rail 73moves.

According to the adjustment of bar 6, the grippers engage the cards at agreater or less distance from the edge. But since the swinging movementof the grippers is invariable', the cards, under certain conditions,would be stacked with their edges on the bottom of the box 64. Caremust, therefore, be taken that, when necessary, the cards are blown fromthe grippers at an earlier stage; but since the blowing olf takes placethe sooner, the earlier the hollow grippers 22 come into register withthe port a in the pressure chamber 60 of the hollow shaft 56, thedesired regulationof the action can be obtained by an angular adjustmentof said shaft. To make this rotary adjustment ofthe shaft depend uponthe adjustment of the supporting bar 6, the rail 73 is connected to anarm 79 of said shaft through an angle lever 77 and a link 78, so thatthe movements of the rails are thus transmitted through the parts 77, 78and 79 to said shaft to turn the same.

The turning of the cards by the pneumatic grippers has the result ofpiling the printed cards in reversed sequence in the delivery box, tothat which they had when unprinted.

Second form of machine represented in Figs. 6 11:

Of the printing mechanism of the tabulating machine, there is againshown only the vertically reciprocating universal bar 101 for the typemembers 102. The control of the type members and the operating mechanismproper are omitted for the sake of simplicity.

The unprinted cards are stacked in a box 103 and are pressed against thefront wall 107 thereof by a bar 104, to which are attached two cords 106loaded with weightsY 105. A slide 108 (Fig. 8) is guided in a groove 107in wall 107 and is provided with a card-engaging member 108a in the formof an angle-piece or hook which is secured thereto and which draws thecards singly from the pile, said part 108a having its shorter legprojecting across the adjacent edge of the slide, as represented in Fig.7. To actuate said slide, a drum 109 is provided having a cam groove 110to receive a stud or roller 108 them across the platen 116 to a pair ofrollers117, 117; but as soon as a card reaches the space between the twopairs of rollers, the latter are stopped, in order to permit the card tobe printed by a type member 102. During printing, the cards are held byboth pairs of rollers at the same time, because the distance between theshafts of the two pairs of rollers is slightly less than the length ofthe cards, and because the rollers are stopped just the instant beforeprinting takes place; but after the printing they are fed away by therollers 117, 117', into the delivery box 118. The diameter of therollers is such that they make one revolution and are then stopped eachtime, so that their periphery is equal, therefore, to the length oftraveLof the card.

The two pairs of rollers are driven from shaft 111, through bevel gears119, 120, connected with the rollers 115 and 117, the rollers115 and 117being driven from the rollers 115 and 117 through pairs of in'termeshingspur gears 121 and 122. The/gears 121 are illustrated in Fig. 11, andone gear 121 and one gear 122 are also shown in Fig. 6; but

u these gears are omitted from Fig. 7 to avoid confusion.

The intermittent movement of the cards requires a similar intermittentrotation of the rollers; and to obtain this, the shaft 111 is driventhrough a friction clutch 123 on the motor shaft 113, and is stoppedintermittently by a paWl-device or latch (Figs. 10 and 10a) controlledby the vertically-reciprocating universal bar 101 of the printingmechanism. The latch wheel 124 of this device is secured on shaft 111and has a single notch 125 to receive the nose 127 provided on the endof one arm of the pawl 126 which, as in the first construction, takesthe form of a twoarmed lever or bell-crank, the other arm 126 of whichlies in the path of a spring-actuated trip 128 (Fig. 10a), pivotallymounted on a disk 129 in such a manner as to act in one direction only.The disk 129 is adjustably mounted on a square shaft 130 (see Fig. 7)which is v.connected by bevel gears 131 (Fig. 10)' with a shaft 132carrying a pinion 133 in mesh with a rack 134 that is pivotallyconnected to a lever 135. Said lever 135, in turn, is connected by alink 136 with the vertically-reciprocating universal bar 101 of theprinting mechanism.

When said bar 101 descends, the trip 128 on disk 129 comes in contactwith the arm 126 of the detent lever 126 and withdraws its nose 127 fromthe notch 125 in disk 124. Shaft 111 is thus freed and begins to turn,and as other, the nose 127 rides along the periphery of thewheel 124and, after one rotation of said wheel, falls back-'into the notch 125;shaft 111, therefore, makin only one turn between each stoppage. en thebar 101 rises, thedisk 129 turns backward, and the trip 128 is rocked ortilted by arm'126V which passes idly over it without the detent 4leverbeing actuated. Y

The stacking of the printed cards in the box 118 is accomplished duringthe upward movement of the printing mechanism by means of a plunger rail137 (Figs. 6 and 9), the movement of which is also derived from the bar101. To this end, a rack 138 is secured on said bar and passes outwardlythrough a slot 139 in the housing, its end being guided in a bushing140. The rack, at a certain point of the stroke of the printingmechanism, comes into mesh with a pinion 141, the rotation of which istransmitted through a crank 142, a connecting rod 143V and a secondcrank 144, to a shaft 145 at the rear end of the box 118. The shaft 145,in turn, is connected by cranks 1 46 and links 147 (Fig. 7) with theplunger 137, so that for each revolution of the pinion 141 by theupwardly- 4 moving rack 138, the plunger 137 is moved towards the shaft145, and the printed card, lying in front of said plunger, is therebyfed against a second rail 148, which is loaded on both sides by cords149 carrying weights 149', which cords tend to move it inwardly, onlyone such cord being shown', however. Between the two members 137 and 148are placed spring lingers 150 (Figs. 7 and 9), which yield as the cardis laid oif by the rail 137 and then spring back in front of the card.The printed cards are, therefore, always firmly held between the slideor rail 148 and the springs 150, so that they cannot tip up or tilt.

The operation of this machine is as follows:

Assuming that the printing mechanism is in its highest position,and thata card has just been printed, then the shaft 1-11 is latched, therollers 115,115', 117 117 are stationary l andthe hooked slide 108 isfully'retracted and is ready to receive a fresh card. Now, as theprinting mechanism ymakes its downward movement, the lever 135 swingsdownward and turns, through the intermediary of rack drive 134. 133 andbevel gears 131, the stop disk 129 in jsuch direction that the detent126 will be disengaged from the latch wheel 124 by the trip 128, thusfreeing the shaft 111 which then -drives the two sets of rollers 115,115 and 117, 117 through the bevel gears 119 and 120. The printed cardis fed from the platen 116 into the delivery box 118 and, at the sametime, a fresh card is drawn out of the box 103 by the hooked slide 108and cam drum 109 and fed in front of the platen 116. After vone completerotation of trols the detent 126, turns backwardly, and,

the tri 128 strikes said detent 126 and slides under its free end. Atthe end of the upward movement, a second card is printed, and the cycleof operations is thus complete.

The machine above described is likewise adapted to print the cards onlines of differ.

ents heights; and to this end, the platen, with the card receptacles forboth the printed and unprinted'cards, is guided on acolumnl 151 of theframe of the printing mechanism, in which a screw=spindle 152 (Fig. 11)is journalled. VThe spindle nut 153 lies in a guide bushing'154connected to the platen. In an adjustment of the platen, the stop disk129 slides along the square shaft 130 (Fig. 10), since the drive of saidshaft does not take part itself in the displacement. Also, the drive ofthe plunger bar or rail 137 for stacking the cards in the delivery box(Fig. 9.) remains in its lace during an adjustment of the platen, as aras the rack 138 and pinion 141v are concerned. However, no noticeablediminution of the stroke of the plun er 137 occurs when the platen 1sadjusted, ecause the link 143 is very long. The'adjustment of the plateninto the desired line level can be controlled by a fixed scale 155 (Fig.9) over which moves a pointer 156 connected to plunger 137.

In this machine, the stacking of the printthat in which they werestacked before being printed.

The two constructions described abovelrepresent merely embodiments ofthe invention and can be varied' as a whole or in details.

1. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanism,including a platen, printing members, and a single main operatingelement therefor; a receptacle to contain a pile of unprinted workpieces; mechanism lfor feeding the work pieces one at a time to printingposition on the platen; a receptacle to receive the printed work pieces;mechanism for delivering the printed pieces from the platen to thesecond receptacle; and mechanism under the automatic control of saidoperating element for controlling the operation of both the feeding andthe delivering mechanism.

2. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen, printing members, and a single main operatingelement therefor; a receptacle to contain a pile of unprinted Workpieces; a

receptacle to receive the printed pieces; and

mec anism under the automatic control of said o erating element forfeeding an unprinte work piece from the first' receptacle to the platenand simultaneously delivering la printed piece from said platen to thesecments of said operating element for feedingv an un rinted Work piecefrom the first receptac e to the platen and simultaneously delivering aprinted piece from said platen to the second receptacle.

4. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a laten, printing members, and a main operatmg elementtherefor; a receptacle to contain a pile of unprinted work pieces; areceptacle to receive the printed pieces; mechanism under the automaticcontrol of said operating element for feeding an unprinted Vwork piecefrom the first receptacle to the platen and simultaneously delivering aprinted piece f'om said platen to the second receptacle; andvertically-adjustable supporting means for the work pieces to enableprinting to take vplace thereon at different line levels.

5. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen, printing members, and a main operating elementtherefor; mechanism for feeding unprinted work pieces one at a time toprinting position on the platen; a latch mechanism normally4 locking thefeeding mechanism against operation; and means actuated automatically bythe movement of said operating element for releasing said latchmechanism.

6. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanlsmincluding a platen, printing members, and a main operating elementtherefor; mechanism for feeding unprinted Work ieces one at a time torinting position on t e laten; a latch membei' connected to the cedingmechanism; a detent normall engaged therewith tolock the feedingmechanism against action; and means actuated automatically. by themovement of said operating element for disengaging the detent from thelatch member.

7. In a combined printing and/tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen, printing members, and a main operating elementtherefor; mechanism for feeding unprinted Work pieces one at a time toprinting mechanism including av printing position on-the platen; a latchmember connected to the feeding mechanism; a detent normally engagedtherewith to lock the feeding mechanism against action; and

a trip actuated automatically bylthe movement of such member in onedirection onlyl \and is ineffective during its movement in the oppositedirection.

9. A combined printing and tabulating machine, according to claim 7,in'which the main operating element of the printing mechanism comprisesa vertically-reciprocatory member; and in which the trip comprises apivotally-mounted, spring-pressed part that is actuated by the movementof such member in one direction only and is rocked idly about its pivotduring the movement of said member in the opposite direction.

10. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen, printing members and a main operating elementtherefor; mechanism including a rotary shaft, and driving means for thesame, for feeding unprinted Work pieces one at a time to printingposition on the platen; a notched latch Wheel fixed to said shaft; adetent normally engaging the notch in said Wheel to lock the feedingshaft against rotation; and means actuated automatically by the movementof said operating element for releasing said detent from said notch.

11. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, rinting mechanismincluding a platen, prlnting members and a main operating elementtherefor; mechanism including a rotar shaft, and driving means for thesame, for ceding unprinted work pieces one at a time to printingposition on the platen; a notched latch Wheel fixed to said shaft; adetentnormally engaging the notch in said wheel to lock the feedingshaft against rotation; a trip carried by the detent; and a projectionon said operating element to engage and actuate said trip so as torelease the detent. 'Y

12. A machine according to claim 11, in which thev operating elementcomprises a vertically-reclprocatory bar; and in which the Adetentcomprises a pivotally-mounted part that is actuated by the projection onthe operating bar during the movement of the latter in one directiononly, and is rocked idly about its pivot when the bar moves in theopposite direction.

13. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen, printing members, and a main operating elementtherefor; a receptaclento contain a pile of unprinted work pieces; areceptacle to"`receive the printed Work pieces; mechanism for feeding anunprinted piece from the first receptacle to the platen and delivering aprinted piece from said platen to the second receptacle; a latchmechanism normally locking the feeding and delivering mechanism againstaction; and means under the control of said operating element forautomatically releasing the latch mechanism when the operating elementis actuated.

14. In a combined printing and tabulating lnachine, printing mechanism;mechanism for feeding loose Work-pieces one at a time thereto to beprinted; a movable receptacle to receive the printed Work pieces;Weight-actuated means controlled by the feeding mechanism for movingsaid receptacle relatively i to the printing mechanism; and means fordelivering vthe printed pieces to the receptacle and stacking themtherein.

15. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, a receptacle tocontain unprinted Work pieces; a movable follower therein to engage thework pieces and press them to- Ward the delivery end of the receptacle;printing mechanism including a platen; mechanism for feeding theunprinted Work pieces one at a time to printing position on the platen;a movable receptacle to receive the printed pieces; Weight-actuatedmeans connected With said follower for moving the receiving receptaclerelatively to the platen; and means `for delivering the printed piecesfrom said platen to said receiving receptacle and stacking them therein.

16. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen; means for feeding unprinted Work pieces one at atime to the platen; means for holding a Work piece against the platen;pneumatic grippers for removing a printed Work piece from the platen bysuction and transferring it to another point of the machine; and meansfor supplying compressed air to the grippers when such point is reachedto blovv the Work piece therefrom.

17. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen; means for feeding unprinted Work pieces one at atimev to the platen; a pneumatic device for removing a printed Workpiece from the platen and transferring it to another point of themachine; and mechanism for initially connecting said device with suctionto enable it to pick up and carry the Work piece, and for subsequentlyconnecting it With fluid under pressure to forcibly detach the Workpiece when such point is reached.

18. A machine according to claim 17, in which the printing mechanismadditionally includes a main controller; and in which a valve systemgoverned by the movements of said controller is provided for regulatingthe connection of the pneumatic device With suction and pressure.

19. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, .printing mechanismincluding a platen; means for feeding unprinted Work pieces one at atime to the platen; a chamber extending along the rear face of theplaten and having an aperture which opens through said platen; a devicefor removlng a printed Work piece from the platen and transferring it toanother point of the machine and means for connecting said chamberalternately With suction and pressure to hold a work piece against theplaten during printing and then detach it therefrom.

20. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen; means for feeding unprinted work pieces one at atime to the platen; a chamber extending along the rear face of theplaten and having an aperture which opens through the same; a pneumaticdevice for removing a -printed Work piece from the platen andtransferring it to another point of the machine; means for connectingsaid chamber alternately With suction and pressure to hold a Work pieceagainst the platen and then detach it therefrom; and means for initiallyconnecting the pneumatic device with suction to enable it to pick up andcarry the printed work piece, and for subsequently connecting it withpressure to detach said piece when such point is reached.

21. A machine according to claim 20, in which the printing mechanismadditionally includes a main controller; and in Which a valve systemgoverned by the movements of said controller is provided for regulatingthe connection of the chamber and the pneumatic device with suction andpressure.

22. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen, printing members, and a main operating elementtherefor; a receptacle to contain a pile of unprinted Work pieces; areciprocating slide connected to be controlled in its actuation by themovements of said operating element for feeding the Work pieces one at atime from said receptacle to printing position on the platen; and meansfor removing the Work pieces from the platen after printing, andstacking them at another point of the machine.

2 3. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen, printing members, and a main operating elementtherefor; a receptacle to contain unprinted Work pieces; a receptacle toreceive the printed Work pieces; and mechalnism under the automaticcontrol of said operating element for feeding an unprinted work piecefrom the first receptacle to the platen and simultaneously delivering aprinted piece from said platen to the second relll ceptacle; said platenand both receptacles being vertically adjustable together.

24. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen, printing members, and a verticallyreciprocating mainoperating element therefon; and mechanism controlled automatically bythe vertical movements of said operating element for feeding Work piecesone at a time to the printing mechanism and then removing them from theprinting mechanism and stacking them.

25. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen, printing members, and a verticallyreciprocating mainoperating element therefor; and mechanism controlled automatically bythe vertical movements of said operating element for feeding Work piecesone at a time to the printing mechanism and then removing them from theprinting mechanism and stacking them; said automatically-controlledmechanism including pneumatic grippers for effecting the removal andstacking of the printed work pieces.

26. In a combined printing and tabulating machine, printing mechanismincluding a platen and a main controller; means for feeding unprintedWork pieces one at a time to the platen; pneumatic grippers for removinga printed Work piece from the platen and transferring it to anotherpoint of the machine; mechanism for initially connecting said grippersWith suction to enable them to pick up and carry the Work piece, and forsubsequently connecting them with air under pressure to forcibly detachthe Work piece when such point is reached; and a valve system governedby the movements of the controller for regulating the connection of thegrippers with suction and pressure.

27. A combined printing and tabulating machine, according to claim 26,in which the main controller for the printing mechanism consists of avertically-reciprocating element, the vertical movements of which governthe operation of the valve system.

In testimony whereof We aiiix our signatures.

GEORG BRANDL. WALTER BAENSCI-I.

